Why Tiger Woods’ kids almost missed his emotional Masters win

Tiger Woods greeting his kids behind the 18th green at Augusta National after winning the 2019 Masters was likely the most memorable golf moment of the year. It also almost never happened.

Woods, who joined the Fred Couples Show on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on Tuesday, broke down the sequence of events that allowed his kids to fly up from Florida Sunday morning to witness his first major victory in over a decade.

“It probably wouldn’t have happened if Sam had gotten to the final of her state soccer tournament, which was on a Sunday,” Woods said. “Because they didn’t qualify for the finals of the state cup, I asked them if they wanted to come up. Charlie said, ‘No way, unless my sister comes.’ And had to convince Sam to come, and they decided to come up.”

Traffic delayed their Sunday morning arrival, and Woods had already gone into his tunnel-vision warmup routine by the time they got there.

“The first time I saw them was 7,” Woods said. “I hit one stiff in there to about two feet. And I hit the putt, go up the hill and I look left and I see Charlie jumping up and down — so I’m like, ‘Okay, good, at least they made it.’ And that was the last time I saw them until 18 green.”

A moment between a father and a son.#themasters pic.twitter.com/Ft0ta2mD5o

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2019

Woods acknowledged the significance of that moment behind 18.

“To have them there was so special because to us in our family, Augusta has meant so much to our family. My dad was there when I won my first one, my mom has been there for each and every one. So to be able to share it with the next generation, to share it with my kids is just surreal, to be honest.”

Woods also revealed that his kids aren’t necessarily looking to follow in his footsteps, though. Sam is an avid soccer player, and Despite Charlie’s natural talent for the game, Woods said golf isn’t his top priority, either.

“He’d much rather play soccer,” Woods said.

You can read more about the interview here.